Abstract
Recent brain–imaging studies revealed that the development and maintenance of alcohol dependence is determined by a complex interaction of different neurotransmitter systems and multiple psychological factors. In this context, the dopaminergic reinforcement system appears to be of fundamental importance. We focus on the excitatory and depressant effects of acute versus chronic alcohol intake and its impact on dopaminergic neurotransmission. Furthermore, we describe alterations in dopaminergic neurotransmission as associated with symptoms of alcohol dependence. We specifically focus on neuroadaptations to chronic alcohol consumption and their effect on central processing of alcohol-associated and reward-related stimuli. Dysfunctional reward processing, impaired reinforcement learning and increased salience attribution to alcohol-associated stimuli enable alcohol cues to drive alcohol seeking and consumption. Finally, we will discuss how the neurobiological and neurochemical mechanisms of alcohol-associated alterations in reward processing and learning can interact with personality traits, cognition and emotion processing.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Abbreviations
- 5-HT:
-
Serotonin
- ACC:
-
Anterior cingulate cortex
- AMPA:
-
α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid receptors
- BAC:
-
Blood alcohol concentration
- BOLD:
-
Blood oxygen level dependent response
- CNS:
-
Central nervous system
- CS:
-
Pavlovian conditioned stimulus
- DA:
-
Dopamine
- DLPFC:
-
Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
- DRD1:
-
Dopamine D1 receptor
- DRD2:
-
Dopamine D2 receptor
- DRD3:
-
Dopamine D3 receptor
- DTI:
-
Diffusion tensor imaging
- EEG:
-
Electroencephalography
- EtOH:
-
Ethanol
- fMRI:
-
Functional magnetic resonance imaging
- F-DOPA:
-
[18F]Fluoro-L-dopa
- GABA:
-
Gamma-aminobutyric acid
- HA:
-
Harm Avoidance
- IAPS:
-
International Affective Picture System
- LTP:
-
Long-term potentiation
- MPFC:
-
Medial prefrontal cortex
- NAc:
-
Nucleus accumbens
- NMDA:
-
N-methyl-D-aspartate
- NS:
-
Novelty Seeking
- OFC:
-
Orbitofrontal cortex
- PET:
-
Positron emission tomography
- PFC:
-
Prefrontal cortex
- SPECT:
-
Single photon emission computed tomography
- SPM:
-
Statistical Parametric Mapping
- SSRI:
-
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
- T1:
-
T1-Weighted magnetic resonance sequence
- TPQ:
-
Cloningers Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (Cloninger 1987b)
- VTA:
-
Ventral tegmental area
- WM:
-
Working memory
References
Adermark L, Clarke R, Olsson T, Hansson E, Söderpalm B, Ericson E (2010) Implications for glycine receptors and astrocytes in ethanol-induced elevation of dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens. Addict Biol
Aneshensel C, Huba G (1983) Depression, alcohol use, and smoking over one year: a four-wave longitudinal causal model. J Abnorm Psychol 92:134–150
Ase A, Reader T, Hen R, Riad M, Descarries L (2000) Altered serotonin and dopamine metabolism in the CNS of serotonin 5-HT(1A) or 5-HT(1B) receptor knockout mice. J Neurochem 75:2415–2426
Barratt E (1982) Impulsivity, Behavioral Dyscontrol, and Conscious Awareness. Behav mot control psychiatr disord S04:217
Begleiter H, Porjesz B (1999) What is inherited in the predisposition toward alcoholism? A proposed model. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 23:1125–1135
Berke J, Hyman S (2000) Addiction, dopamine, and the molecular mechanisms of memory. Neuron 25:515–532
Berridge K, Kringelbach M (2008) Affective neuroscience of pleasure: reward in humans and animals. Psychopharmacology 199:457–480
Berridge K, Robinson T, Aldridge J (2009) Dissecting components of reward: ‘liking’, ‘wanting’, and learning. Curr Opin Pharmacol. 9:65–73
Birbaumer N, Schmidt R (2003) Biologische Psychologie. 5. Auflage. Springer-Verlag, Springer-Verlag
Bishop M, Elder S, Heath R (1963) Incranial self-stimulation in man. Science 140:394–396
Blum K, Sheridan P, Wood R, Braverman E, Chen T, Cull J, Comings D (1996) The D2 dopamine receptor gene as a determinant of reward deficiency syndrome. J R Soc Med 89:396–400
Boileau I, Assaad J, Pihl R, Benkelfat C, Leyton M, Diksic M, Trembley R, Dagher A (2003) Alcohol Promotes Dopamine Release in the Human Nucleus Accumbens. Synapse 49:226–231
Bowirrat A, Oscar-Berman M (2005) Relationship Between Dopaminergic Neurotransmission, Alcoholism, and Reward Deficiency Syndrome. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B (Neuropsychiatric Genetics) 132B:29–37
Braus DF, Wrase J, Grüsser SM, Hermann D, Ruf M, Flor H (2001) Alcohol-associated stimuli activate the ventral striatum in abstinent alcoholics. J Neural Transm 108:887–894
Brumback T, Cao D, King A (2007) Effects of alcohol on psychomotor performance and perceived impairment in heavy binge social drinkers. Drug Alcohol Depend 91:10–17
Bushman B, Cooper H (1990) Effects of alcohol on human aggression: an integrative research review. Psychol Bull. 107:341–354
Carlson R, Lydic R (1976) The Effect of ethanol upon Threshold and Response Rate for Self-Stimulation. Psychopharmacology 50:61–64
Carlsson A, Engel J, Strömbom U, Svensson T, Waldeck B (1974) Suppression by dopamine-agonists of the ethanol-induced stimulation of locomotor activity and brain dopamine synthesis. Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol 283:117–128
Carter B, Tiffany S (1999) Meta-analysis of cue-reactivity in addiction research. Addiction 94:327–340
Cloninger C (1987a) Neurogenetic adaptive mechanisms in alcoholism. Science 236:410–416
Cloninger C (1987b) A systematic method for clinical description and classification of personality variants: a proposal. Arch Gen Psychiatry 44:573–588
Cohen C, Perrault G, Sanger D (1997) Evidence for the involvement of dopamine receptors in ethanol-induced hyperactivity in mice. Neuropharmacology 36:1099–1108
Crabbe JC, Bell RL, Ehlers CL (2010) Human and laboratory rodent low response to alcohol: is better consilience possible? Addict Biol 15(2):125–144
Crews F, Buckley T, Dodd P, Ende G, Foley N, Harper C, He J, Innes D, Loh E-W, Pfefferbaum A, Zou J, Sullivan E (2005) Alcoholic neurobiology: Changes in dependence and recovery. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 29:1504–1513
Dayas C, Liu X, Simms J, Weiss F (2007) Distinct patterns of neural activation associated with ethanol seeking: effects of naltrexone. Biol Psychiatry 61:979–989
de Waele J, Kiianmaa K, Gianoulakis C (1994) Spontaneous and ethanol-stimulated in vitro release of beta-endorphin by the hypothalamus of AA and ANA rats. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 18:1468–1473
de Wit H, Uhlenhuth E, Pierri J, Johanson C (1987) Individual differences in behavioral and subjective responses to alcohol. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 11:52–59
de Wit H, Pierri J, Johanson C (1989) Assessing individual differences in ethanol preference using a cumulative dosing procedure. Psychopharmacology 98:113–119
Di Chiara G (2002) Nucleus accumbens shell and core dopamine: differential role in behavior and addiction. Behav Brain Res 137:75–114
Di Chiara G, Bassareo V (2007) Reward system and addiction: what dopamine does and doesn’t do. Curr Opin Pharmacol. 7:69–76
Di Sclafani V, Ezekiel F, Meyerhoff D, MacKay S, Dillon W, Weiner M, Fein G (1995) Brain atrophy and cognitive function in older abstinent alcoholic men. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 19:1121–1126
Dougherty D, Marsh-Richard D, Hatzis E, Nouvion S, Mathias C (2008) A test of alcohol dose effects on multiple behavioral measures of impulsivity. Drug Alcohol Depend 96:111–120
Drogenbeauftragte der Bundesregierung (2009) Drogen- und Suchtbericht Mai 2009. Bundesministerium für Gesundheit. Berlin, Germany
Drummond D (2000) What does cue-reactivity have to offer clinical research? Addiction 95:129–144
Duka T, Tasker R, Stephens D (1998) Alcohol choice and outcome expectancies in social drinkers. Behav Pharmacol 9:643–653
Egan M, Goldberg T, Kolachana B, Callicott J, Mazzanti C, Straub R, Goldman D, Weinberger D (2001) Effect of COMT Val108/158 Met genotype on frontal lobe function and risk for schizophrenia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 98:6917–6922
Ekman G, Frankenhaeuser M, Goldberg L, Bjerver K, Jarpe G, Myrsten A (1963) Effects of alcohol intake on subjective and objective variables over a five-hour period. Psychopharmacologia 4:28–38
Ekman G, Frankenhaeuser M, Goldberg L, Hagdahl R, Myrsten A (1964) Subjective and objective effects of alcohol as functions of dosage and time. Psychopharmacologia 6:399–409
Fillmore M, Weafer J (2004) Alcohol impairment of behavior in men and women. Addiction 99:1237–1246
Fillmore M, Marczinski C, Bowman A (2005) Acute tolerance to alcohol effects on inhibitory and activational mechanisms of behavioral control. J Stud Alcohol 66:663–672
Finn P, Sharkansky E, Brandt K, Turcotte N (2000) The effects of familial risk, personality, and expectancies on alcohol use and abuse. J Abnorm Psychol 109:122–133
Frigerio E, Burt D, Montagne B, Murray L, Perrett D (2002) Facial affect perception in alcoholics. Psychiatry Research 113:161–171
Fromme K, Katz E, D’Amico E (1997) Effects of alcohol intoxication on the perceived consequences of risk taking. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 5:14–23
Garavan H, Pankiewicz J, Bloom A, Cho J, Sperry L, Ross T, Salmeron B, Risinger R, Kelley D, Stein E (2000) Cue-induced cocaine craving: neuroanatomical specificity for drug users and drug stimuli. Am J Psychiatry 157:1789–1798
Garbutt JC, West SL, Carey TS, Lohr KN, Crews FT (1999) Pharmacological treatment of alcohol dependence: a review of the evidence. JAMA 281(14):1318–1325
Gardner E (2005) Endocannabinoid signaling system and brain reward: Emphysis on dopamine. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 81:263–284
George MS, Anton RF, Bloomer C, Teneback C, Drobes DJ, Lorberbaum JP, Nahes Z, Vincent DJ (2001) Activation of prefrontal cortex and anterior thalamus in alcoholic subjects on exposure to alcohol-specific cues. Arch Gen Psychiatry 58:345–352
Giancola P, Zeichner A (1997) The biphasic effects of alcohol on human physical aggression. J Abnorm Psychol 106:598–607
Gilman J, Ramchandani V, Davis M, Bjork J, Hommer D (2008) Why we like to drink: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study of the rewarding and anxiolytic effects of alcohol J Neurosci 28:4583–4591
Glenn S, Parsons O (1991) Prediction of resumption of drinking in posttreatment alcoholics. Int J Addict 26:237–254
Goldman-Rakic P (1995) Cellular basis of working memory. Neuron 14:477–485
Gorelick D (1989) Serotonin uptake blockers and the treatment of alcoholism. Recent Dev Alcohol 7:267–281
Goto Y, Grace A (2005) Dopaminergic modulation of limbic and cortical drive of nucleus accumbens in goal-directed behavior. Nat Neurosci 8:805–812
Grace A, Floresco S, Goto Y, Lodge D (2007) Regulation of dopamine neuron firing and the control of goal-directed behaviors. Trends in Neurosciences 30:220–227
Grillon C, Sinha R, O’Malley S (1995) Effects of ethanol on the processing of low probability stimuli: an ERP study. Psychopharmacology 119:455–465
Grüsser S, Wrase J, Klein S, Hermann D, Smolka M, Ruf M, Weber-Fahr W, Flor H, Mann K, Braus D, Heinz A (2004) Cue-induced activation of the striatum and medial prefrontal cortex is associated with subsequent relapse in abstinent alcoholics. Psychopharmacology 175:296–302
Hansson AC, Nixon K, Rimondini R, Damadzic R, Sommer WH, Eskay R, Crews FT, Heilig M (2010) Long-term suppression of forebrain neurogenesis and loss of neuronal progenitor cells following prolonged alcohol dependence in rats. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 13:583–593
Harris G, Oscar-Berman M, Gansler A, Streeter C, Lewis R, Ahmed I, Achong D (1999) Hypoperfusion of cerebellum and aging effects on cerebral cortex blood flow in abstinent alcoholics: A SPECT study. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 23:1219–1227
Heath R (1963) Electrical self-stimulation of the brain in man. Am J Psychiatry 120:571–577
Heinz A (2000) Das dopaminerge Verstärkungssystem. Funktion, Interaktion mit anderen Neurotransmittersystemen und psychopathologische Korrelate. Steinkopff Verlag, Steinkopff Verlag
Heinz A, Schmidt L, Reischies F (1994) Anhedonia in schizophrenic, depressed, or alcohol-dependent patients: neurobiological correlates. Pharmacopsychiatry 27(suppl):7–10
Heinz A, Dettling M, Kuhn S, Dufeu P, Gräf K, Kürten I, Rommelspacher H, Schmidt I (1995) Blunted growth hormone response is associated with early relapse in alcohol-dependent patients. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 19:62–65
Heinz A, Dufeu P, Kuhn S, Dettling M, Gräf K, Kürten I, Rommelspacher H, Schmidt L (1996) Psychopathological and behavioral correlates of dopaminergic sensitivity in alcohol-dependent patients. Arch Gen Psychiatry 53:1123–1128
Heinz A, Ragan P, Jones D, Hommer D, Williams W, Knable M, Gorey J, Doty L, Geyer C, Lee K, Coppola R, Weinberger D, Linnoila M (1998) Reduced serotonin transporters in alcoholism. Am J Psychiatry 155:1544–1549
Heinz A, Mann K, Weinberger D (2001) Serotonergic dysfunction, negative mood states, and response to alcohol. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 25:487–495
Heinz A, Löber S, Georgi A, Wrase J, Hermann D, Rey E, Wellek S, Mann K (2003) Reward craving and withdrawal relief craving: assessment of different motivational pathways to alcohol intake. Alcohol Alcohol 38:35–39
Heinz A, Goldman D, Gallinat J, Schumann G, Puls I (2004a) Pharmacogenetic insights to monoaminergic dysfunction in alcohol dependence. Psychopharmacology 174:561–570
Heinz A, Siessmeier T, Wrase J, Hermann D, Klein S, Grüsser S, Flor H, Braus D, Buchholz H, Gründer G, Schreckenberger M, Smolka M, Rösch F, Mann K, Bartenstein P (2004b) Correlation between dopamine D-2 receptors in the ventral striatum and central processing of alcohol cues and craving. Am J Psychiatry 161:1783–1789
Heinz A, Reimold M, Wrase J, Hermann D, Croissant B, Mundle G, Dohmen B, Braus D, Schumann G, Machulla H, Bares R, Mann K (2005a) Correlation of stable elevations in striatal mu-opioid receptor availability in detoxified alcoholic patients with alcohol craving. Arch Gen Psychiatry 62:57–64
Heinz A, Siessmeier T, Wrase J, Buchholz H, Gründer G, Kumakura Y, Cumming P, Schreckenberger M, Smolka M, Rösch F, Mann K, Bartenstein P (2005b) Correlation of alcohol craving with striatal dopamine synthesis capacity and D-2/3 receptor availability: a combined [18F]DOPA and [18F]DMFP PET Study in detoxified alcoholic patients. Am J Psychiatry 162:1515–1520
Heinz A, Wrase J, Kahnt T, Beck A, Bromand Z, Grüsser S, Kienast T, Smolka M, Flor H, Mann K (2007) Brain activation elicited by affectively positive stimuli is associated with a lower risk of relapse in detoxified alcoholic subjects. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 31:1138–1147
Heinz A, Beck A, Gruesser S, Grace A, Wrase J (2008) Identifying the neural circuitry of alcohol craving and relapse vulnerability. Addict Biol. 14:108–118
Heinz A, Beck A, Wrase J, Mohr J, Obermayer K, Gallinat J, Puls I (2009) Neurotransmitter Systems in Alcohol Dependence. Pharmacopsychiatry 42:S95–S101
Hicks J, Schlegel R, Friedman R, McCarthy D (2009) Alcohol primes, expectancies, and the working self-concept. Psychol Addict Behav 23:534–538
Hindmarch I, Kerr J, Sherwood N (1991) The effects of alcohol and other drugs on psychomotor performance and cognitive function. Alcohol Alcohol 26:71–79
Holdstock L, King A, de Wit H (2000) Subjective and objective responses to ethanol in moderate/heavy and light social drinkers. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 24:789–794
Hunt W (1983) The effect of ethanol on GABAergic neurotransmission. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 7:87–95
Ikemoto S (2007) Dopamine reward circuitry: two projection systems from the ventral midbrain to the nucleus accumbens-olfactory tubercle complex. Brain Res Rev 56:27–78
Jääskeläinen I, Schroger E, Näätänen R (1999) Electrophysiological indices of acute effects of ethanol on involuntary attention shifting. Psychopharmacology 141:16–21
Jentsch J, Taylor J (1999) Impulsivity resulting from frontostriatal dysfunction in drug abuse: implications for the control of behavior by reward-related stimuli. Psychopharmacology 146:373–390
Jørgensen H, Hole K (1981) Does ethanol stimulate brain opiate receptors? Studies on receptor binding and naloxone inhibition of ethanol-induced effects. Eur J Pharmacol 75:223–229
Kareken D, Claus E, Sabri M, Dzemidzic M, Kosobud A, Radnovich A, Hector D, Ramchandani V, O’Connor S, Lowe M, Li T (2004) Alcohol-related olfactory cues activate the nucleus accumbens and ventral tegmental area in high-risk drinkers: preliminary findings. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 28:550–557
Kiefer F, Mann K (2005) New achievements and pharmacotherapeutic approaches in the treatment of alcohol dependence. Eur J Pharmacol 526(1–3):163–171
Kienast T, Heinz A (2006) Dopamine and the diseased brain. CNS Neurol Disord Drug Targets 5:109–131
Kienast T, Hariri A, Schlagenhauf F, Wrase J, Sterzer P, Buchholz H, Smolka M, Gründer G, Cumming P, Kumakura Y, Bartenstein P, Dolan R, Heinz A (2008) Dopamine in amygdala gates limbic processing of aversive stimuli in humans. Nat Neurosci 11:1381–1382
Knutson B, Wolkowitz O, Cole S, Chan T, Moore E, Johnson R, Terpstra J, Turner R, Reus V (1998) Selective alteration of personality and social behavior by serotonergic intervention. Am J Psychiatry 155:373–379
Koelega H (1995) Alcohol and vigilance performance: A review. Psychopharmacology 118:233–249
Koob G (1992) Neural Mechanisms of Drug Reinforcement. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 654:171–191
Kornreich C, Philippot P, Foisy M-L, Blairy S, Raynaud E, Dan B, Hess U, Noël X, Pelc I, Verbanck P (2002) Impaired Emotional Facial Expression Recognition Is Associated With Interpersonal Problems In Alcoholism. Alcohol & Alcoholism 37:394–400
Laakso M, Vaurio O, Savolainen L, Repo E, Soininen H, Aronen H, Tiihonen J (2000) A volumetric MRI study of the hippocampus in type 1 and 2 alcoholism. Behavioral Brain Research 109:177–186
LeMarquand D, Pihl R, Benkelfat C (1994a) Serotonin and Alcohol Intake, Abuse, and Dependence: Clinical Evidence. Biol Psychiatry 36:326–337
LeMarquand D, Pihl R, Benkelfat C (1994b) Serotonin and Alcohol Intake, Abuse, and Dependence: Findings of Animal Studies. Biol Psychiatry 36:395–421
Lindenmeyer J (2001) Lieber schlau als blau. Psychologie VerlagsUnion, Verlagsgruppe Beltz, Psychologie VerlagsUnion, Verlagsgruppe Beltz
Lovinger D, White G, Weight F (1989) Ethanol inhibits NMDA-activated ion current in hippocampal neurons. Science 243:1721–1724
Lubman D, Yücel M, Pantelis C (2004) Addiction, a condition of compulsive behavior? Neuroimaging and neuropsychological evidence of inhibitory dysregulation. Addiction 99:1491–1502
Lubman D, Yücel M, Kettle J, Scaffidi A, Mackenzie T, Simmons J, Allen N (2009) Responsiveness to drug cues and natural rewards in opiate addiction. Associations with later heroin use. Arch Gen Psychiatry 66:205–213
Luciana M, Depue R, Arbisi P, Leon A (1992) Facilitation of Working Memory in Humans by a D2 Dopamine Receptor Agonist. J Cogn Neurosc 4:58–68
Lyvers M (2000) “Loss of control” in alcoholism and drug addiction: a neuroscientific interpretation. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 8:225–249
Mann K (2004) Pharmacotherapy of Alcohol Dependence. A Review of the Clinical Data. CNS Drugs 18:485–504
Marczinski C, Combs S, Fillmore M (2007) Increased sensitivity to the disinhibiting effects of alcohol in binge drinkers. Psychol Addict Behav 21:346–354
Marinkovic K, Halgren E, Maltzman I (2001) Arousal-related P3a to novel auditory stimuli is abolished by moderately low alcohol dose. Alcohol and Alcoholism 36:529–539
Marinkovic K, Halgren E, Maltzman I (2004) Effects of alcohol on verbal processing: An ERP study. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 28:415–423
Martin C, Earleywine M, Musty R, Perrine M, Swift R (1993) Development and validation of the Biphasic Alcohol Effects Scale. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 17:140–146
Martinez D, Gil R, Slifstein M, Hwang D, Huang Y, Perez A, Kegeles L, Talbot P, Evans S, Krystal J, Laruelle M, Abi-Dargham A (2005) Alcohol dependence is associated with blunted dopamine transmission in the ventral striatum. Biol Psychiatry 58:779–786
Modell JG, Mountz JM (1995) Focal cerebral blood flow change during craving for alcohol measured by SPECT. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 7:15–22
Molander A, Löf E, Stomberg R, Ericson M, Söderpalm B (2005) Involvement of accumbal glycine receptors in the regulation of voluntary ethanol intake in the rat. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 29:38–45
Myrick H, Anton R, Li X, Henderson S, Drobes D, Voronin K, George M (2004) Differential brain activity in alcoholics and social drinkers to alcohol cues: relationship to craving. Neuropsychopharmacology 29:393–402
Nagoshi C, Wilson J (1989) Long-term repeatability of human alcohol metabolism, sensitivity and acute tolerance. J Stud Alcohol 50:162–169
Nevo I, Hamon M (1995) Neurotransmitter and neuromodulatory mechanisms involved in alcohol abuse and alcoholism. Neurochem Int 26:305–336 discussion 337-42
Newlin D, Thomson J (1990) Alcohol challenge with sons of alcoholics: A critical review and analysis. Psychol Bull 108:383–402
Newlin D, Thomson J (1999) Chronic tolerance and sensitization to alcohol in sons of alcoholics: II. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 7:234–243
Nixon K (2006) Alcohol and adult neurogenesis: Roles in neurodegeneration and recovery in chronic alcoholism. Hippocampus 16:287–295
Olds J, Milner P (1954) Positive reinforcement produced by electrical stimulation of septal area and other regions of rat brain. J Comp Physiol Psychol 47:419–427
Ollat H, Parvez H, Parvez S (1988) Alcohol and central neurotransmission. Neurochem Int 13:275–300
Oscar-Berman M, Bowirrat A (2005) Genetic influence in emotional dysfunction and alcoholism-related brain damage. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment 1:211–229
Oscar-Berman M, Marinkovic K (2003) Alcoholism and the brain: An overview. Alcohol Research and Health 27:125–133
Oscar-Berman M, Marinkovic K (2007) Alcohol: Effects on Neurobehavioral Functions and the Brain. Neuropsychol Rev 17:239–257
Park S, Kahnt T, Beck A, Cohen M, Dolan R, Wrase J, Heinz A (2010) Prefrontal cortex fails to learn from reward prediciton errors in alcohol dependence. J Neurosci 30:7749–7753
Paulus M, Tapert S, Schuckit M (2005) Neural activation patterns of methamphetamine-dependent subjects during decision making predict relapse. Arch Gen Psychiatry 62:761–768
Pecina S, Berridge K (2005) Hedonic hot spot in nucleus accumbens shell: Where do mu-opioids cause increased hedonic impact of sweetness? J Neurosci 25:11777–11786
Peterson J, Rothfleisch J, Zelazo P, Pihl R (1990) Acute alcohol intoxication and cognitive functioning. J Stud Alcohol 51:114–122
Pfefferbaum A, Lim K, Desmond J, Sullivan E (1996) Thinning of the corpus callosum in older alcoholic men: A magnetic resonance imaging study. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 20:752–757
Pfefferbaum A, Sullivan E, Mathalon D, Lim K (1997) Frontal lobe volume loss observed with magnetic resonance imaging in older chronic alcoholics. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 21:521–529
Pfefferbaum A, Adalsteinsson E, Sullivan E (2006) Dysmorphology and microstructural degradation of the corpus callosum: Interaction of age and alcoholism. Neurobiology of Aging 27:994–1009
Philippot P, Kornreich C, Blairy S, Baert I, Den Dulk A, Le Bon O, Streel E, Hess U, Pelc I, Verbanck P (1999) Alcoholics’ Deficit in the Decoding of Emotional Facial Expression. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 23:1031–1038
Pihl R, Peterson J, Lau M (1993) A biosocial model of the alcohol-aggression relationship. J Stud Alcohol Suppl 11:128–139
Pohorecky L (1977) Biphasic action of ethanol. Biobehavioral Reviews 1:231–240
Ramchandani VA, Umhau J, Pavon FJ, Ruiz-Velasco V, Margas W, Sun H, Damadzic R, Eskay R, Schoor M, Thorsell A, Schwandt ML, Sommer WH, George DT, Parsons LH, Herscovitch P, Hommer D, Heilig M (2010) A genetic determinant of the striatal dopamine response to alcohol in men. Mol Psychiatry. May 18. [Epub ahead of print]
Ray L, MacKillop J, Leventhal A, Hutchison K (2009) Catching the alcohol buzz: an examination of the latent factor structure of subjective intoxication. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 33:2154–2161
Robbins T, Everitt B (2002) Limbic-striatal memory systems and drug addiction. Neurobiol Learn Mem 78:625–636
Robbins T, Cador M, Taylor J, Everitt B (1989) Limbic-striatal interactions in reward-related processes. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 13:155–162
Robinson T, Berridge K (1993) The neural basis of drug craving - an incentive-sensitization theory of addiction. Brain Res Brain Res Rev 18:247–291
Rosenbloom M, Sullivan E, Pfefferbaum A (2003) Using magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging to assess brain damage in alcoholics. Alcohol Research and Health 27:146–152
Rossetti Z, Melis F, Carboni S, Gessa G (1992) Dramatic depletion of mesolimbic extracellular dopamine after withdrawal from morphine, alcohol or cocaine - a common neurochemical substrate for drug-dependence. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 654:513–516
Salloum JB, Ramchandani VA, Bodurka J, Rawlings R, Momenan R, George D, Hommer DW (2007) Blunted rostral anterior cingulate response during a simplified decoding task of negative emotional facial expressions in alcoholic patients. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 31:1490-1504
Schneider F, Habel U, Wagner M, Franke P, Salloum JB, Shah NJ, Toni I, Sulzbach C, Hönig K, Maier W, Gaebel WKZ (2001) Subcortical correlates of craving in recently abstinent alcoholic patients. Am J Psychiatry 158:1075–1083
Schuckit M, Smith T (1996) An 8-year follow-up of 450 sons of alcoholic and control subjects. Arch Gen Psychiatry 53:202–210
Schuckit M, Smith T, Kalmijn J (2004) The search for genes contributing to the low level of response to alcohol: patterns of findings across studies. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 28:1449–1458
Schulte T, Sullivan E, Muller-Oehring E, Adalsteinsson E, Pfefferbaum A (2005) Corpus callosal microstructural integrity influences interhemispheric processing: A diffusion tensor imaging study. Cerebral Cortex 15:1384–1392
Schultz W, Dayan P, Montague P (1997) A neural substrate of prediction and reward. Science 275:1593–1599
Shalev U, Highfield D, Yap J, Shaham Y (2000) Stress and relapse to drug seeking in rats: studies on the generality of the effect. Psychopharmacology 150:337–346
Söderpalm B, Löf E, Ericson M (2009) Mechanistic studies of ethanol’s interaction with the mesolimbic dopamine reward system. Pharmacopsychiatry 42:S87–S94
Spanagel R, Herz A, Shippenberg T (1992) Opposing tonically active endogenous opioid systems modulate the mesolimbic dopaminergic pathway. Proc Natl Acad Sci 89:2046–2050
Stephens DN, Duka T, Crombag HS, Cunningham CL, Heilig M, Crabbe JC (2010) Reward sensitivity: issues of measurement, and achieving consilience between human and animal phenotypes. Addict Biol 15(2):145–168
Sullivan E (2000) Neuropsychological vulnerability to alcoholism: Evidence from neuroimaging studies. In: Noronha A, Eckardt M, Warren K (eds) Review of NIAAA’s neuroscience and behavioral research (Monograph No. 34. NIAAA, Bethesda, MD, pp 473–508
Sullivan E, Marsh L, Mathalon D, Lim K, Pfefferbaum A (1995) Anterior hippocampal volume deficits in nonamnesic, aging chronic alcoholics. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 19:110–122
Tapert S, Brown G, Baratta M, Brown S (2004) FMRI BOLD response to alcohol stimuli in alcohol dependent young women. Addict Behav 29:33–50
Ticku M (1989) Ethanol and the benzodiazepine-GABA-receptor-ionophore complex. Experientia 45:413–418
Tiffany S (1990) A cognitive model of drug urges and drug-use behavior–role of automatic and nonautomatic processes. Psychol Rev 97:147–168
Tiplady B, Franklin N, Scholey A (2004) Effect of ethanol on judgments of performance. Br J Psychol 95:105–118
Tobler T, Fiorillo C, Schultz W (2005) Adaptive coding of reward value by dopamine neurons. Science 307:1642–1645
Tsai G, Gastfriend D, Coyle J (1995) The glutamatergic basis of human alcoholism. Am J Psychiatry 152:332–340
Uekermann J, Daum I (2008) Social cognition in alcoholism: a link to prefrontal cortex dysfunction? Addiction 103:726–735
Uhart M and Wand G (2008) Stress, alcohol and drug interaction: an update of human research. Addict Biol. 14:43–64
Uhl G, Blum K, Noble E, Smith S (1993) Substance abuse vulnerability and D2 receptor genes. Trends Neurosci 16:83–88
Valenzuela C (1997) Alcohol and Neurotransmitter Intractions. Alcohol Health & Research World 21:144–148
van Erp A, Miczek K (2007) Increased accumbal dopamine during daily alcohol consumption and subsequent aggressive behavior in rats. Psychopharmacology 191:679–688
Vanderschuren L, Di Ciano P, Everitt B (2005) Involvement of the dorsal striatum in cue-controlled cocaine seeking. J Neurosci 25:8665–8670
Vengeliene V, Leonardi-Essmann F, Sommer WH, M Marston H, Spanagel R (2010) Glycine Transporter-1 Blockade Leads to Persistently Reduced Relapse-like Alcohol Drinking in Rats. Biol Psychiatry. Jul 22. [Epub ahead of print]
Volkow N, Hitzmann R, Wolf A, Logan J, Fowler J, Christman D, Dewey S, Schlyer D, Burr G, Vitkun S, Hirschowitz J (1990) Acute Effects of Ethanol on Regional Brain Glucose Metabolism and Transport. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging 35:39–48
Volkow N, Wang G, Fowler J, Logan J, Hitzemann R, Ding Y, Pappas N, Shea C, Piscani K (1996) Decreases in dopamine receptors but not in dopamine transporters in alcoholics. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 20:1594–1598
Volkow N, Wang G, Fowler J, Logan J, Gatley S, Hitzemann R, Chen A, Dewey S, Pappas N (1997) Decreased striatal dopaminergic responsiveness in detoxified cocainedependent subjects. Nature 386:830–833
Volkow N, Wang G, Fowler J, Logan J, Gatley S, Gifford A, Hitzemann R, Ding Y, Pappas N (1999) Prediction of reinforcing responses to psychostimulants in humans by brain dopamine D2 receptor levels. Am J Psychiatry 156:1440–1443
Volkow N, Chang L, Wang G, Fowler J, Ding Y, Sedler M, Logan J, Franceschi D, Gatley J, Hitzemann R, Gifford A, Wong C, Pappas N (2001) Low level of brain dopamine D2 receptors in methamphetamine abusers: association with metabolism in the orbitofrontal cortex. Am J Psychiatry 158:2015–2021
Volkow N, Fowler J, Wang G, Swanson J (2004) Dopamine in drug abuse and addiction: results from imaging studies and treatment implications. Molecular Psychiatry 9:557–569
Volkow N, Wang G, Begleiter H, Porjesz B, Fowler J, Telang F, Wong C, Ma Y, Logan J, Goldstein R, Alexoff D, Thanos P (2006) High levels of dopamine D2 receptors in unaffected members of alcoholic families: possible protective factors. Arch Gen Psychiatry 63:999–1008
Volpicelli J, Watson N, King A, Sherman C, O’Brien C (1995) Effect of naltrexone on alcohol “high” in alcoholics. Am J Psychiatry 152
Wang G, Volkow N, Franceschi D, Fowler J, Thanos P, Scherbaum N, Pappas N, Wong C, Hitzemann R, Felder C (2000) Regional brain metabolism during alcohol intoxication. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 24:822–829
Weiss F (2005) Neurobiology of craving, conditioned reward and relapse. Curr Opin Pharmacol. 5:9–19
WHO (2007) World health organization expert committee on problems related to alcohol consumption. 2. World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland
Williams A (1966) Social drinking, anxiety, and depression. J Pers Soc Psychol. 3:689–693
Williams G, Goldman-Rakic P (1995) Modulation of memory fields by dopamine D1 receptors in prefrontal cortex. Nature 376:572–575
Wise R (1982) Neuroleptics and operant behavior: the anhedonia hypothesis. Behav Brain Sci 5:39–87
Wise R (1996) Neurobiology of addiction. Curr Opin Pharmacol. 6:243–251
Wise R (2002) Brain Reward Circuitry: Insights from Unsensed Incentives. Neuron 36:229–240
Wise R, Rompre P (1989) Brain Dopamine and Reward. Annu. Rev. Psychol. 40:191–225
Wong D, Kuwabara H, Schretlin D, Bonson K, Zhou Y, Nandi A, Brasic J, Kimes A, Maris M, Kumar A, Contoreggi C, Links J, Ernst M, Rousset O, Zukin S, Grace A, Rohde C, Jasinski D, Gjedde A, London E (2006) Increased occupancy of dopamine receptors in human striatum during cue-elicited cocaine craving. Neuropsychopharmacology 31:2716–2727
Wrase J, Grüsser S, Klein S, Diener C, Hermann D, Flor H, Mann K, Braus D, Heinz A (2002) Development of alcohol-associated cues and cue-induced brain activation in alcoholics. Eur Psychiatry 17:287–291
Wrase J, Grüsser S, Heinz A (2006) Cue-induced alcohol craving. Neurobiological correlates and clinical relevance. Nervenarzt 77:1051–1063
Wrase J, Schlagenhauf F, Kienast T, Wüstenberg T, Bermpohl F, Kahnt T, Beck A, Ströhle A, Juckel G, Knutson B, Heinz A (2007) Dysfunction of reward processing correlates with alcohol craving in detoxified alcoholics. Neuroimage 35:787–794
Yoshimoto K, McBride W (1992) Regulation of nucleus accumbens dopamine release by the dorsal raphe nucleus in the rat. Neurochem Res 17:401–407
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft; HE 2597/4-3; 7-3; EXC257), by the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin (BMBF grant 01GQ0411) and NGFN (BMBF grant 01GS08159).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Charlet, K., Beck, A., Heinz, A. (2011). The Dopamine System in Mediating Alcohol Effects in Humans. In: Sommer, W., Spanagel, R. (eds) Behavioral Neurobiology of Alcohol Addiction. Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences, vol 13. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-28720-6_130
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-28720-6_130
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-28719-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-28720-6
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)